Thursday, March 9, 2023
bowenislandundercurrent.com • A5
VIEWPOINTS
Come, my friends Dear Editor,
While reading the February 2 issue of the Undercurrent, I could not help but smile when I saw Ron Woodall”s inclusion of a powerful quote by the great Ralph Waldo Emerson in his cartoon. Where else but on Bowen Island would one see such a quote utilized by a cartoonist in a newspaper! Having been a property owner on the island since 1975, I am also fully aware that it is not an isolated example. Where else but on Bowen would we see a current mayor, such as Andrew Leonard, who finds inspiration in the equally profound thoughts of Herman Hesse and Carl Jung! Or a former mayor and current environmental activist, such as Bob Turner, who finds kinship in the writings of Eckhart Tolle, the Vancouver author who is one of the foremost spiritual teachers on the planet! As Tolle indicates in his book “A New Earth”, the path to “building a better world” lies in a “transformation of human consciousness”, a transformation that is very much embodied not only in himself, but in in all of these wise authors. Having had the opportunity to provide my contribution in the creation of our original Official Community Plan and
to work with others in the many campaigns throughout the years in support of our community plan, of the Islands Trust and its instrumental mandate in the creation of our OCP, and of the numerous political candidates who have steadfastly upheld our island way of life and the life blood of its participatory democracy, I can fully attest to the fact that this transformation of consciousness was already taking place and was being essentially reflected in all of those efforts within our community. The most vital result was the creation of a community plan in the 1970s with principles and policies of environmental sustainability that were decades ahead of other North American communities. And I have no doubt that Emerson himself would have applauded its integrity of purpose, as reflected in the last sentence of his quote in Woodall’s cartoon: “Do not allow yourself to be governed by customs or conventionalities or arbitrary man-made rules that are not founded on principle”. Emerson’s’s quote goes to the heart of our OCP, a document that was soundly forged on principle, above and beyond the customs and conventionalities of the day. The name “Bowen” means “son of Owen”, and the meaning of the name “Owen” is “noble”, “well born” and
Fighting against a park? Not exactly... Dear Mayor & Council,
By this point a number of people have written to you with concerns about the park, most of which I share — there are over 40 letters that I could have happily co-signed. I won’t reiterate all the points here because, as you know, they are many. It’s a weird situation to be in: “fighting against a park.” But what I want you to understand very clearly is that none of us are fighting against a park — we are fighting to preserve the viability of our community as a place to live, raise children and, for those who need to, commute to the city for work. We are fighting for both a natural ecosystem and a human one. This is an island, with only one way in and one way out, funnelled by the triple-bottleneck of Horseshoe Bay, the
Ferry, and our small Cove. Everything that happens on this island affects us all, and we exist in extreme dependence on that little bottleneck. If it doesn’t function, we don’t function. I have been reading, with interest, “Measuring and Managing Park Carrying Capacity,” the UBC Report prepared for Deanne Manzer of Metro Parks in August 2020. A number of people have quoted from it in reference to problems surrounding parks. But what I took from it was quite different. It is a guidance document; one that perhaps you have adopted in its recommendations for how to proceed in park development. And I noticed something very odd: it talks a lot about visitor experience and the three “core capacities” of Environmental, Social (visitor experience) and Managerial, with a nod to “Cultural capacity” which specifically
Re: MetroVancouver Parks Proposal for Bowen Island and Rezoning Application Dear Editor, I sent this letter below to Council on March 3 and wish to send the same message to island residents. Please continue to engage with Metro Vancouver Parks (MVP) as you wish, filling out surveys, attending open houses etc. But it is not MVP that makes the final decision – it is the BIM Council who has to give approval to a park and camping at Cape Roger Curtis. So please let your Council know your views, not just Metro Vancouver Parks. My message to Council: As a former BIM councillor and one who was very much involved with the failed National Park initiative for our island – I am asking you all to go slow and to communicate to Metro Vancouver that our island needs time to hear all the information and to consider all the effects on our island before making a quick decision. Personally, I am in favour of protecting a major part of Cape Roger Curtis, but not in favour of giving Metro
Vancouver Parks a green light without a lot more information. At this time, I think Metro Vancouver Parks needs to take a step back, a deep breath, and start to engage with the community in a meaningful way – which to me means being prepared to answer questions about ferry overloads, traffic on Bowen roads, traffic through Whitesails, passenger ferries, shuttle buses, environmental studies on the rare ecosystem at the Cape and how welcoming the lower mainland public to this area will affect this ecosystem. Please do not give first reading to a bylaw or OCP amendment. It is too soon. Consultation first on what MVP plans, with answers to questions noted above, and then, when this is complete, consider a zoning application and OCP amendment. Thank you, - Nerys Poole
”young warrior” - a fitting description of who we are as a community. Our noble community was truly well born, with the warrior spirit that is needed to always fight the good fight. Sadly, in the troubled, perilous and dysfunctional world in which we live, one of those dysfunctions has been to succumb to cynicism and to give up. But, in my experience, that has never been the noble path of a true Bowen Islander. Beyond all of our human failings and the stumbles they may cause, we are indeed a nobly born community that belongs to the future through its vision of building that better world in the new earth that Eckhart Tolle foresees. “Come, my friends, ‘T is not too late to seek a newer world. Push off, and sitting well in order smite The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths Of all the western stars, until I die” (From the poem “Ulysses”, by Alfred Lord Tennyson) - John Sbragia references Indigenous peoples, but nowhere does it mention impact on the community of people who live in the area of a proposed park. I urge you to take the many concerns you have heard very seriously and make them an integral part of your plan to save an ecosystem at the Cape, because while most of us are not Indigenous, we are part of that ecosystem. Under your current plan, our way of life, our livelihoods and possibly even our lives are at stake. Bowen Island’s ecosystem includes humans. Sincerely, - Marian Bantjes
Water Taxi
Water Taxi
Water Taxi
Proudly Celebrating 44 Years of Trusted Transport for Bowen Island & Howe Sound Cellular: 604-250-2630 Telephone: 604-947-2243 • PRIVATE CHARTERS AVAILABLE ANYTIME • SERVICE TO MANY LOCATIONS IN HOWE SOUND email: cormorantmarine@telus.net web: cormorantwatertaxi.com
604-250-2630
Since 1978